Sparks was a few cars behind Stewart on the racetrack but had a clear field of vision of what occurred, and said that videos that have been made public do not tell the whole story.

“People say that they heard the engine rev up and he gassed it,” Sparks said of Stewart. “In a sprint car, the only way to steer is you steer with the rear wheels as much as you do the steering wheel. In my opinion, what he did was he (Stewart) gassed it to turn down away from him (Ward).”

Sparks also confirmed the belief of many that Stewart’s vision may have been limited and that Stewart likely did not see Ward until it was too late.

“Kevin was wearing all-black,” Sparks said. “A black fire suit, a black helmet, which in normal situations isn’t a big deal, they are to go with the colors of your car. It was tragic accident and a mistake was made.”

Although Ontario County (N.Y.) Sheriff Philip Povero has said his investigators have spoken to other racers, it was unclear from the Rochester.twcnews.com story if Sparks has been questioned yet by investigators about what he saw unfold on the racetrack.

Ward shares most of the culpability in his own death. If you leave the car in all black, under cover of darkness and walking towards Stewarts car, what would you expect? It was an extremely poor decision which cost him his life. More often then not, drivers try to approach a vehicle to hit with their helmet or bang on the car. This is not about Stewart. Poor decision by a 20 year old and heated words from a father who lost a son. NASCAR needs to strengthen the penalties for drivers leaving vehicles.

@mcsuave: You do understand this was a dirt track incident, NOT NASCAR! The style of car being raced was “sprint,” NASCAR is sponsored by the phone company Sprint. While to some it is still confusing, please try to get your series of cars correct.

Here lies the problem. Most of the people posting don’t understand the difference between NASCAR Sprint Cup and IRA Sprint Car racing. Two different identities. NASCAR has no say about the rules for this series, race or race track. The only thing that could come close to NASCAR having a say is if the team owner says you cannot race outside of NASCAR. It’s a terrible racing accident and there are only two people that know what happened. Kevin and Tony.

Give this a rest already. For every person who thinks Stewart is innocent, you have 1 that thinks he’s guilty. Now all this is , is pure stupidity with reporters just writing articles to get people arguing

I’m reading a lot of these post and not one of them do any of the people posting know what they are talking about.
So let’s get some facts about Sprint Cars. 1st there is no windshield, 2nd the view out the front is about 16inches high by about 2 1/2 feet wide, 3rd the wing on top of car has a top panel that’s up high on the left side of the car and low in the drivers view on the right of the car which is where Kevin was standing. 4th the drivers face is getting hit with mud all the time.
5th no headlight. 6th the tire on the side was that hit Kevin is about 2 1/2 feet wide and about 3 foot tall.
So with a poor lighting and a driver wearing all black with the view you have in the drivers seat Kevin was standing in a big blind spot of the car. These cars are nowhere close to any car these people are talking about. If you put some of these reporters in the driver seat of a Sprint Car they would be reporting a different story about Tony.
Know what your talking about before you post don’t be a back seat driver.

If I get into an accident on the highway…I am not getting out walking through traffic and yelling at the other guy that hit me….because it is unsafe and I may get hit. I am sorry the kid lost his life, but some responsibility has to be put on him.

@Zipmeister When you have a car in front of you that swerves at the last second, you can’t see ahead of them. Please know your facts before posting. This wasn’t Tony’s fault, and Kevin should have never been that close to moving vehicles.

thenicklemansbrothera - Aug 16, 2014 at 3:10 AM

Watch the video. Ward moved toward the center of the track after every car went by.so other cars not hitting him has nothing to do with where he was when he was hit.

jbq2 - Aug 14, 2014 at 11:53 PM

What a “fairy tale”. Stewart “gunned” it and ran him down. No one and I mean no one insults the king and lives to tell the tale. “Pictures don’t tell the true story” of what happened. In what universe is this cad living? Pictures tell a thousand words. Lies tell only one.

I am truly sad that Mr. Ward is deceased. However, he violated one of the BASIC rules of automotive competition, which is: NEVER GET OUT OF YOUR VEHICLE, UNLESS IT IS ON FIRE, IN A CRASH SITUATION UNTIL THE COURSE MARSHALS GET TO YOU AND TELL YOU IT IS OKAY TO EXIT! More to the point, not only did he get out of his vehicle, he walk out into the racing line! I have read a lot of posts since this happened and it is quite obvious that the most vicious ones are from people who have NO IDEA what they are talking about! Tony Stewart DID NOT hit Kevin Ward on purpose. In fact, he tried to avoid him. It is obvious that the stupid buttheads that are screaming that Stewart “gunned” his engine just before he hit Ward simply do not understand the dynamics of a sprint car. You steer them as much with the throttle as you do with the steering wheel! Stewart was trying to get the car to bite to move further down the track and avoid Ward! All of you people who are screaming for Stewart’s head need to take time to learn what you are talking about and rethink your position!

Thank you for all of you who really understand these cars, and understand that Tony didn’t mean to hit this young man. I am not familiar with such cars, so I will not pass judgement on Tony… I do know no matter what kind of car accident you’re in, you never get out of your car, and you never walk into traffic. It was an accident in my opinion.